The Long Wait
by sherina
Summary: Ginny spends a long night alone, waiting desperately for her beloved husband to return from a mission with the Order


Disclaimer:  I only own the story, not the one that inspired it or the characters, etc.  Those all belong to JK Rowling.  Reviews and constructive criticism always welcome.

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Ginny rolled onto her left side and willed herself to drift off into sleep.  She wasn't any more successful this time than she had been for the past two hours.  It was the empty bed.  She had been consistently unable to sleep well any time he hadn't been lying next to her with his hand resting on her hip and his face nuzzled against her neck.  Since they had been married a year ago, any night spent apart had made sleep an exercise in futility and she didn't know why she thought it would be any different this time.

"Oh bloody hell!" she snapped, flipping on to her back.  "This is just ridiculous.  I may as well get up then."

As she rose from her bed, her stomach rumbled softly with hunger.  She smiled in fleeting amusement.  At least she could feign an acceptable excuse now; she wasn't getting up in the middle of the night because she was worried, no.  She was simply getting up because she needed a light snack.  After all, it was perfectly acceptable for a pregnant woman to crave something to eat at odd hours, right?

Standing in the middle of the bedroom, she ran her hands gently over her stomach.  There was just enough moonlight filtering in through her curtains to allow her to see the outline of the bulge that was starting to strain against even her loosest nightgown.

It was a full moon tonight, she recalled as she parted the curtains and gazed upwards.  That meant that Remus Lupin would be laying low tonight.  Even with Snape's wolfsbane potion helping him resist the urge to transform into a werewolf, Lupin still preferred to stay indoors during the full moon unless his presence on a mission was absolutely necessary.

"Well at least I know that I'm not the only Order member sitting at home like some sort of useless bump," she told herself as she let the curtains fall back into place.  She left the bedroom and headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

"I hate being here all alone when I could be doing something useful out there," Ginny said to herself as she lit two lanterns hanging on the wall over the table.

When Ginny had discovered she was pregnant she had been ecstatic.  So had her husband when she had told him early one morning, six months ago.  "I'm pregnant," she had said to him nonchalantly.  "Do you want eggs or is just toast fine?"

He had started at her, wide eyed.  For a split second she feared he was unhappy; they hadn't been working very hard to prevent a pregnancy, but they hadn't exactly planned it all out either, so maybe he was angry or disappointed.  A moment later, the shock fell away and he broke into a disbelieving grin.  "Oh God Gin, are you really?  Are you sure?"

There had been no doubt in her mind since that day that he was just as eager as she was to build their family.  She had kept it a secret between them for months; she knew what her parents would say and with his parents being dead and having no other family left alive that would have cared it wasn't too hard to keep it quiet.

As soon as she started showing and couldn't keep it to herself any longer she finally sat down and told her parents.  They were thrilled with the pending arrival of a new grandchild to add to the throes of children born to her older brothers, but as she suspected they were instantly worried about her work with the Order.

"You can't go out there anymore, Ginny," Molly Weasley had told her daughter.  "It's far too dangerous and you can't risk your health or that of your child."

"Mom, I can't just give up everything and sit at home staring at my hands," she had complained.  "The Order means too much to me.  It's not like the dark wizards out there are going to suddenly take a break from it all and I can't just sit around ignoring the fight."

"I'm afraid you'll have little choice for the time being, sweetheart," Arthur had chimed in.  "I know that it's in your blood to fight so hard, but you'll just have to wait.  After the baby is born you can decide when you're ready to come back but in the meantime your mother's right.  You can't take a chance on harming the baby."

She knew that her parents were right, but that was sad comfort on a lonely night when her husband was who knew where, doing who knew what, possibly getting himself hurt or worse.  Ginny shook her head and forced herself not to even entertain the thought of something happening to him.  She loved him too much to be able to imagine what she would do without him.  The mere glimmer of the thought of living without him was too painful to bear.

Ginny poured a glass of milk, pulled some cheese and crackers out, and sat down at the table.  She noted that it was now 4:30 in the morning.  She knew from all her own experience that it was hardly unusual to have a mission go so long.  Still, she hoped that it would all be over soon and that he would be wrapping his arms around her any minute now.

As hard as she tried, she couldn't stop herself from thinking back to previous missions.  Of course, all the moments that flashed through her mind were the bad ones; the times when she had seen friends die, when she had seen innocent people killed, when she had seen her husband hurt badly enough that it took weeks for him to get back to normal.

Ginny knew that he was probably fine but the simple fact of the matter was that being a member of the Order carried a serious risk.  When Voldemort had finally been defeated two years ago, there had been momentary relief and elation.  Of course that hadn't really been the end; he may have been finished, removed from this world forever but now new dark wizards were trying to rise up to take his place and bask in the glory of the darker side of magic.  Most were easy enough to defeat but every so often someone - usually a follower of Voldemort - grew too strong too quickly and the work was harder and indeed far more dangerous.

As Ginny sat in the kitchen, her milk and snack finished, she fiddled with the hem of her nightgown and closed her eyes, recalling their wedding day.  She had worn a flowing white gown with flowers in her hair.  She had chosen to go barefoot, something that went well with the soft grass and the sandy beach where they had been married and held their reception.  He had been so handsome in his dark suit, with the wind tousling his hair.  How she loved to tousle it herself.

Unbidden, tears sprang to her eyes and fell from beneath her closed lashes.  Sniffling quietly at first, she eventually gave in and let her body be overcome by great wracking sobs.  Try as she might, she couldn't help but worry that something terrible was happening, that her baby would grow up without a father, and that she would never hold him in her arms or gently kiss his lips again.

She opened her eyes and saw the first strains of sunrise beginning to light the sky.  As she gazed out the window, she saw a flash of light and heard a bang from the yard.  Someone had just Apparated.  She leapt to her feet and raced through the kitchen and into the living room.  She reached the door just as it opened.

"Harry!" Ginny cried, "Oh Harry, what happened?  Is everything all right?  Everyone?"

Harry, covered in dirt and a startling amount of blood, limped through the door.  With a wan grin, he said, "Fine.  We're all fine.  I'd hug you I'm so relieved to see you right now if I didn't think I'd get you filthy."

Ginny flung herself into his arms anyway and hugged him fiercely.  "Where is he?" he whispered into his ear.

"Right behind me."  Another flash lit up the front step.

Draco Malfoy looked about as worn out as Harry did.  Ginny grabbed her husband and pulled him into her arms and sobbed with joy on his shoulder.  "Draco!  I was getting so worried.  It's been a long time since you've been gone this long.   I was starting to fear the worst."  She pulled back and gazed into his eyes.  Pushing a stray piece of his blond hair behind his ear, she scrutinized him in the same manner that her mother had done to her father so many times in the past.  "You're hurt," she said.  "Both of you are."

"It looks worse than it is, honestly," Harry assured her.

Wiping the tears from Ginny's eyes, Draco added, "Most of this blood isn't ours.  Trust me, the other guy looks worse than us.  Moody got a little banged up mind you, but it wasn't our side that took the brunt of the damage.'

"Another would-be Voldemort being shipped off to Azkaban then?" Ginny asked, catching her breath.  "Well good.  Maybe there will be a little quiet time for awhile so I can get the rest I'm supposed to aim for before the baby arrives.  God knows I can't get it when I'm up all night wondering how you are."

"I can tell you how I am now," Draco answered with a smile.  "I'm exhausted.  So is Potter.  All right if he spends the night in the guest room?"

Ginny recalled a time when Draco would have slit his own throat before putting Harry up for the night.  How things had changed over the year.  Fighting side by side for the greater good could really put things into perspective sometimes and forage new friendships...  And of course, love.  "Of course," she said, turning to Harry.  "If you're really nice I'll even let you make breakfast tomorrow."

Harry laughed, then stifled a yawn.  "I'll see you in the morning then."  He walked across the living room and into the guest room, closing the door behind him.

Turning to Draco, Ginny said, "You know, hadnsome though you always are, you do look a little, ah, rough around the edges.  Let me clean you up and make sure you're really okay."

Draco put his arms around her and kissed her lips, her neck, her shoulder.  "I assure you I'm fine.  Just take me upstairs and let me hold you while we sleep."

Leading him towards the stairs, Ginny smiled at him.  "That," she said, "I think I can do."


End file.
